The art of the wheelie

[mike1979]

Alright guys, lets have it. I want your tips and secrets to the perfect wheelie. I have been riding for a little while but I guess I have been a bit of a chicken. Anyway, I can get the wheel to pop up but I cant seem to rise out a nice long wheelie, what is the secret?

[bigred44]

The trick is to find the balancing point of the machine and feel comfortable in that position. Start out slow in first gear and keep your foot over the rear brake when you pop it up. If you feel you are starting to go back too far pull in the clutch (if equiped) and push on the brake to bring the front end back down. Try it sitting and also with your left knee on the seat with your foot on the grab bar. You may feel more comfortable this way and if it tips over you can usually land on your feet. Once in the wheelie you'll want to stay on the throttle to keep the front end up. With more practice and getting the feel for the balancing point you'll be able to shift gears while in the wheelie and keep her going. You should be able to get some more tips from youtube videos. Keep practicing and you'll get the hang of it pretty quickly.

[Yamada]

Here are my personal tips:
If the front wheel goes too high and your not quick enough to hit the rear brake, just hold the handlebar. The trike will stay up on the grab bar. It won't fall on you if you are on level ground.
I find it easier to wheelie in second gear. You wont't over rev the motor this way and I find it easier to hold a long wheelie.
Some 3 wheeler are alot easier to wheelie then others... what 3 wheeler do you practice on?
Adjust you rear brake and levers top notch. You want be able to use the rear brake before you fall backward.

[code200k]

i learned by practicing in 2nd gear just like yamada said.also i played around with my trike in a big open feild qworked really well.and just use the back brakes to help you .it is all about balance

[Dammit!]

The reason why some people have a hard time learning to wheelie is the balance point of a trike is more vertical than most people expect it to be. They panic and hit the rear brake way sooner than they need to.

Here's an easy way I've shown people how to wheelie before.

Sit on the bike in your normal riding position with the engine off. Have a buddy lift the front end all the way up to it's balance point and hold it there (it'll be easier for your buddy to lift it if you hold the rear brake down) so you can see just how vertical you need to be. Then, assuming you have a proper grab bar, have him slowly ease the trike all the way back on the bar. That way you can see just how far back it really goes.

Make sure you turn your gas off before doing this or it will leak all over the place.

[MudBug]

I just put it in 2nd and stop. I can go either way, kneeling on the seat or just sitting. I yank up on the bars and hit the gas and when she comes up high enough I can just tap the gas and keep her going.

Kneeling :

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Sitting:

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[Dammit!]

To embed a video, click on the little film strip icon right above the reply box and paste just the direct link to the video in there.

[MudBug]

wow, I dont know how to embed videos

[brapp]

Throttle control i think is alot more important than brakes and beign able to smothly trasition your weight to baqllance. And i feel its easier to wheelie on most trikes in highewr gears i can wheelie the sx easiest in 3rd-5th the r in 5th and 6th and the 350x in any gear atc70 in 1st alt50 ummkmmmm its auto so yeah lol the 200x's in 2nd and 3rd, the 110's in 2nd ata slightly rolling, tecate 3rd gear the tri-s 2-4th but do what ever you feel comfortable doing.

[Dirtcrasher]

I train people to JAM or NAIL the brake when they panic, not to just tap it or touch it. In time, they find that balance point and get it. I find thumpers a bit easier to maintain a long wheelie versus a pinger.......

[brapp]

i am quite opposite i love power wheelies on the pingers just screamin along in 4th or 5th gear just screaming

[jeddy]

When I try and teach people to wheelie, I tell them to intentionally flip it over in first gear at low speed several times. This teaches you how far back you can really go, and it also gets you used to exiting the trike off the rear. Don't just do it once, do this several times to it's second nature. I've gone off the back of my 350X in fifth/sixth gear wheelies at the sand dunes and got right back up without any problems. I find that the worst times are when you stop too suddenly (either by stalling the engine or braking) and get thrown over the bars.

Another tip would be to start on a four stroke, they are a lot easier to ride slow wheelies in my opinion. Once you've got the slow wheelie figured out, then faster wheelies and changing gears are much easier.

I'd also suggest learning on a gradual uphill slope. It's a lot easier to slowly wheelie up a slight incline than on a downhill or even flat area.

[atcrider1]

you guys are making me miss my 350x soooo much, i could go through all gears and go so long on a wheelie!!!

i just started in 2nd gear and when it felt right tried going to third and so on

[dcreel]

The only thing I can offer is find an open area with little traffic and practice, practice, practice.

[vegas250rr]

well my only suggestion is to get a 6 pack rack. It will stop you before getting vertical (the scary place, unless of course your on a hill)... it really helped me learn on a trike.... though I really learned on a crotch rocket first, I found that asphalt and terrain are two totally different animals